Kovalainen's Lotus on fire again
Just like last year, Heikki Kovalainen stopped his car along the track with a fire. This time around it wasn't too bad, as in FP1 the brakes caught fire and prevented further running in that session. Both drivers are still relatively happy and look forward to the rest of the weekend.
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04:
“I was pretty pleased with where we ended up, but obviously we wanted more running in P1. The fire this time was much smaller than last year, and with brakes at the temperatures they run it’s not uncommon to see them catch like that, but it wasn’t a major issue at all and we got where we wanted by the end of the day’s running. I think we can keep getting more from the new package here – there’s definitely a couple more tenths in there so let’s see where we are tomorrow night.”
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-01:
“I didn’t have the best runs today, but I’m still relatively happy with where we finished. We were able to get good temperatures into both compounds, but traffic and the red flags ruined both my quick laps so I don’t think we really showed what’s in the car yet.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader:
“The disruption this morning meant we could not learn as much as we were aiming to in FP1, so the pressure was on in FP2 to complete as much of the programme as we could. The data we accumulated in that session will help us make sure that we can give the drivers the best maps we can to maximise traction and fuel economy at a track which is pretty hard on engines, and I think we will be ok for tomorrow and Sunday.”
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer:
“That was a pretty hard day’s work for everyone in the team. The first session was obviously disrupted before it even started and then the red flags affected the whole grid. Jarno's programme suffered from the stoppages and Heikki had a small off on his third run in FP1. Once he came to a halt the high brake temperatures meant he had a small fire in the front right but it was not a big issue and once we had the car back it was sorted out quickly. With Heikki's car and some changes to Jarno’s setup the team had a lot of work to do during the break to turn both cars around and worked extremely well to have both cars ready for FP2. The second session was more productive and we were able to evaluate the aero updates we have brought here and it looks like we have made another small step forward. We will know more after going through the data tonight and then look forward to a good qualifying session tomorrow.
Riad Asmat, Group CEO:
"I think everyone up and down the pitlane had a disrupted FP1 with the track issues just before the session, and with Heikki stopping out on track we were looking to make sure we completed as much mileage as we could in FP2. I am not too sure what it is about Heikki and fire here in Singapore, perhaps our Finn thinks it is not quite hot enough for him here in Singapore, but the car was pretty much unscathed this time and the guys worked well to clean it up and get him out for FP2. We are reasonably happy with where we ended up – there is more to come on the super softs and both drivers are giving us positive reports on the updates we have brought here, so I am pretty happy with where we ended up.”
